Boston among top 10 in personal income

Seventy-two U.S. markets currently have more than $25 billion in total personal income (TPI), with Boston ranking ninth on that list.

TPI is defined as the sum of all money received by all residents of a given area in a given year. It encompasses such diverse sources of income as salaries, interest payments, dividends, rental income and government checks.

The New York City area is first in the nation with TPI of $1.031 trillion, based on 2008 figures. It’s the only metro to surpass $600 billion, according to a new Bizjournals analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data released earlier this month.

Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and Houston round out the top five.

Boston is ninth in the national rankings with total personal income of $248.9 billion in 2008. Two other Massachusetts cities, Worcester and Springfield, reported $33.5 billion and $25.5 billion in total personal income, respectively.